


Shadow's Arrival

by Gemi



Series: Pink [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic, Gen, baby caring, prologue to Pink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4116280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemi/pseuds/Gemi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Casey arrives like he always does; loud, without warning and always interrupting something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadow's Arrival

Casey arrives like he always does; loud, without warning and always interrupting something.

The family looks up in unison from their dinner. They blink owlishly at the human, noodles dangling from mouths and chopsticks alike. The man is red in the face, hair a mess and clutching a little bundle of something in his arms. He has two different shoes and forgot to put on his gloves.

Donatello looks at the clock hanging in the kitchen. Blinks again.

“Casey,” he says, first one to break the silence as Casey apparently only plans to stand there gasping for air, “it’s midnight for the topside. What are you-”

And then the bundle starts crying.

Ah.

Not something, but someone then.

Leonardo jumps like a startled cat. Michelangelo chokes on his food. Raphael freezes in the middle of getting up.

Donatello gapes.

Casey gives them a wild eyed look.

“Help me!” he begs even as he tries to awkwardly rock the- the baby. She must be one year at most, Donatello never really gave much thought to human growth. The baby seems to despise the rocking, though, as she only cries harder. “She ain’t stopped crying for ages, only on the way here ‘cuz I ran I think I don’t _fucking know_ , and April is away on some- some shit, just, help me!”

Raphael has thawed just in time for Donatello to freeze as the baby is suddenly shoved at him. The turtle sits there stiffly, awkwardly holding the little bundle and staring at it- her- with wide eyes. Her face is bright red from screaming.

“Where did you get a _baby_ you lughead!” Raphael yells, and of course the baby only cries even harder. Donatello automatically holds her closer and tries to cover her ears. Her hair is all blonde tufts sticking up, like wet silk. Wait, wet? “How? How long have you had it? Fucking hell, where- ya didn’t steal it right?”

“No!” Casey snaps back, flailing his arms, hovering around Donatello. “how do ya _think_ I got her you stupid- stupid _turtle_ , a girl gave me her, she didn’t want-”

**Tap.**

Silence. Well, almost, the yelling stops at least. The crying continues.  
The turtles and Casey stares at Splinter. Splinter raises a fuzzy brow, putting his cane back beside the table.

“You are making it worse,” he tells them. “Mr Jones, sit down. Raphael, finish your dinner. Michelangelo, are you quite alright?”

Mikey gives a shaky thumbs up. During the whole drama, Leonardo had to figure out how to help his brother from choking. Donnie would feel guilty for not helping- he is closest, after all- but he is quite busy with the squirming baby in his arms.

Splinter gives him an amused look.

“Shall I take her, Donatello?” he gently asks.

Don hurriedly nods. Splinter takes the baby.

The baby stops crying.

Donatello doesn’t believe in magic. He might now, though. He is also very aware he isn’t the only one gaping as Splinter gently cradles the child, shushing her and sniffing at her face.

“Leonardo, go get a towel,” Splinter says. The baby stares up at him- shock, perhaps. Her eyes are bright blue, just like Casey’s--

“Wait, you’re a _dad?”_ Don blurts out.

“Wait, what? You made a _kid?”_ Raph says in a tone pf genuine horror, rising from his chair once more as he points at Casey. _“You?”_

Mikey wheezes. Casey bristles, hovering over Leo’s previous spot. Clearly he was going to steal it, but apparently one must be standing to feel insulted.

“Yeah, she’s mine,” he huffs, “what’s so weird ‘bout that, huh? That’s my girl. _My girl._ So there! Uh, master Splinter, could ya… maybe. Tell me how ya did that?”

“Have you fed her?” Splinter asks instead. Tiny hands pats at his furry face, and the old rat smiles, tilting his head just enough to avoid having his whiskers grabbed.

“I tried to!”

Splinter gives the man a _look._ Casey shrinks and repeats in a more quiet (and sullen) tone;

“I tried to.”

“Sensei, here’s the towel,” Leo cuts in and Splinter accepts it. He gently rubs the girl’s hair, blond tufts standing up. She hiccups. Donatello manages to tear his eyes away from her to give Casey a _look_ of his own.

“How long?” he asks, and okay, so maybe his voice sounds like a dying cat. Whatever. _Casey is a dad,_ okay? Don is allowed to sound as if he is dying from shock. This is the man who’s broken five televisions and two microwaves and whom isn’t allowed inside April’s store anymore. _And he is a dad._

“What?” Casey asks. He is hovering over Splinter, all twitchy as if Donatello’s dad is going to eat the baby. Sure, normal rats would perhaps give it a try, but he is pretty sure Casey knows that Splinter isn’t one of those. The turtles survived childhood, didn’t they? At least Leo managed to snatch his seat back before Casey remembered it was up for grabs.

“How long have you _had_ her?” Don asks. Casey blushes.

Casey Jones. Blushing.  
Donatello hasn’t seen that since before April and Casey broke up, over that one thing with the flowers and- never mind.

“Two days,” Casey mumbles.

As if on cue, the baby starts the screaming again. They all wince; Leo was the closest to Splinter now, and he seem very tempted to abandon his seat in an attempt to escape the loud wailing. Splinter is looking as if it’s all a normal, quiet afternoon and not as if he has a miniature banshee in his lap.

“Donatello,” he says, whiskers twitching, “go and make food for the little one.”

_“Me?_ But I don’t kno-”

“Mix together some of our vegetables, make a nice mush,” the rat gave Donatello a far too amused look, if you asked Donnie. “Bring Mr. Jones with you. Ah, what is her name?”

“Uh,” Casey clears his throat. “Shadow.”

Mikey looks ecstatic at the name. The rest of the brothers gives Casey an _Are You Serious_ look. Casey bristles and opens his mouth to retaliate against judging turtles; Splinter clears his throat, and so Donnie and Casey escapes to the kitchen counter in an attempt to sooth the mini banshee’s rage.

The result is far from appetizing. Donatello gags as he pours it into a makeshift bottle, but hey, the kid drinks it when Casey gets his baby back.

Ew.

It looks like _mutagen._

“Maybe it will fix her monkey look,” Mikey whispers to Raph. They both snicker in their safe corner of the kitchen, ignoring the nasty glare Casey gives them.

Don watches her drink, fascinated, and okay.

She is kinda cute.

 

~

 

Shadow is eight months old and once she isn’t screaming, she is ridiculously cute. It doesn’t take long before all of their hearts have been defeated. They are now slaves, Mikey gleefully tells them as he lifts up the giggling girl towards the ceiling.

They’re all slaves to Overlord Shadow, the princess of dark corners and sparkly butterflies.

No one can exactly argue against the truth of that statement.

Because Shadow is _cute._

She is all chubb and fluffy hair standing upright. Big blue eyes that likes to stare at Raph when he is trying to fumble his way through _The Very Hungry Caterpillar._ It’s hilarious, but mostly it’s just so cute.

Donatello keeps finding himself cuddling her close whenever he is reading. Which is a lot, because Casey is now over at the lair more than he has ever been. Sometimes there’s a few days break, but whenever he returns it’s with bags under his eyes and frazzled hair.

It must be hard, being a single dad. A single dad used to _action,_ but now only able to care for a tiny girl and grab what sleep he can get.  
So Casey drops by often; for help. For a chance to crash on the couch as they dote on her.

It’s not like they mind, anyway.

  
  


~

 

“No way in _hell!”_ Raph yells as he scrambles away from Casey and the smelly little girl. “Your kid, your job!”

Casey throws his head back and groans.  
Shadow kicks out, toothy grin and sparkling eyes.

Her diaper is still full of poop, though, and they all still refuse to help with _that_ shit. It’s too messy and smelly to be their type of shit. They prefer the kind of shit that have nothing else but blood and maybe a few missing teeth in the mess- preferably someone else’s.

They live in the sewers filled with awful smelling sewage, yes, but that doesn’t mean they _bathe_ in it. Which Casey should’ve known; even Mikey threw his hands up and ran for it when the man tried to give him a pleading look.

 

~

 

“I can watch her,” Donatello says. Casey blinks at him, furrowed brows but a hopeful tilt to his lips. Donnie reaches out and gently pokes Shadow’s nose. Her giggles are like bubbles popping, light and carefree and short. She grabs onto his hand. Tiny fingers around one big green.

“You sure, man?” Casey asks, grinning down at his daughter. “She’s in her biting stage, y’know.”

“I know,” Donnie grins. Hard not to, with how she is currently trying to chew off his finger. He let’s her keep doing it; nothing but gums, still. “I was the one who shoved you the growing chart. Yeah, I’m- I’m sure. You’ve not been out there for ages, and I think Raph would like it if you tagged along to put that drug circle behind bars.” He smiled wryly. “And Leo doesn’t want me out running in the cold when I only just got better from the flu.”

“And Splinter?”

“Oh, he thinks I can handle it. But it is Leo’s decision.”

Casey snickers.

Shadow stays with Donnie; the drug circle is broken up with only a few broken bones on the opposite side. Raphael teases Casey about growing soft; thankfully this only add a few extra bruises to them.

 

~

 

“Casey, take your girl,” Leo says, gentle even as he practically shoves Shadow at the man. “I need a shower.”

“Yes, we can see that,” Donnie grins, switching the WWII documentary over to the cartoon channel right as an explosion is filmed. The human next to him only grumbles a little; Raph keeps snoring in his favorite chair. “Nice art.”

“Yeah, Leo, you should tattoo it in,” Casey snicker, letting Shadow squirm around until she can see the screen. A smacking of lips grants her a pink pacifier, and she leans back to rest her head against his chest. “Shadow original. Gotta be respected.”  
Donatello reaches over to check her hands. But they’re clean, and he leans back into his spot; satisfied.

“Right,” Leo wryly replies. He has a black handprint on his cheek and smears all over. “No, sadly this Shadow original will be washed off. And don’t worry, Donnie, I washed all of her before, I just need a proper shower by myself.” Leo still ruffled the cotton fluff that was Shadow’s hair before leaving, however.

They were silent for a while after he went to the bathroom. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were arguing about a cake, the colors all obnoxiously bright and eye-clashing.

“Did you get a picture of him?”

“Of course I did. I’m a ninja.”

They shared a mischievous grin.

 

~

 

“April!” was the delighted chorus that greets her when she enters the lair. She laughs as Mikey latches onto her for a big hug, rubbing his nose against her neck in a playful gesture. April pats his shell, tugs on the orange fabric. The others crowd around her too, hovering in a not so subtle way of hoping for a hug of their own. She releases Mikey and tugs Raph into one, and after that Donatello. “I missed you guys! How are you? Did anything special happen while I was awa…” she trails off, stopping right before she hugs Leonardo.

Blue eyes blink back at her from his arms. It’s a little girl, if one is to go by the baby blue bow holding her hair out of the way, and the pink pacifier with white butterflies in her mouth. She is adorable. All rosy cheeks and chubby arms around Leo’s neck.

“Oh my gosh,” she says, covering her lips with one hand. “Where did you _find_ her?”

The turtles laugh; even Splinter, whom were lingering on the edge of the group, chuckles.

“She’s Casey’s,” Mikey tells her, poking one tiny cheek. The girl still won’t look away from April, however, staring at her in wide eyed surprise. “Her name’s Shadow!”

“Casey has a- what? _How?”_

“You sound like us,” Raph snorted. “Nearly killed the shellhead.”

“Hey, you would choke too if a baby just arrived out of _nowhere.”_

“No I wouldn’t. I’m not a fucking _shellhead.”_

“Language,” Leo and Splinter warns. April has to grin at that. She holds out a hand, waiting for the little girl to inspect it. She grows very interested in the ring April decided to wear today.

“Really? So where’s Casey?”

“A cousin of his needed help to move into their new apartment,” Donatello explains. “And we babysit her often enough that he felt it would be for the best if she got left here instead of brought into the chaos.”

“Uh-huh. So why-”

Suddenly Shadow drops April’s hand, the one she had been investigating a ring on. Her brows draw together. The pacifier suddenly falls to the floor as she abruptly begins to cry. _Loudly._

April barely has time to blink before Leo shoves the tiny human at Donnie. Donnie, whom rolls his eyes and just cradles her close. He gives April an apologizing smile before he wanders off, softly talking to the upset baby.

Soon, the cries grow faint and distant as he gets further away from them while simultaneously getting the girl to calm.

April gives the others a confused look.  
Splinter smiles at her, ignoring how the others poke fun at Leo’s dislike of crying children.

“Donatello is her main caretaker when Mr. Jones is not here,” he explains. “Truly, he barely ever needs our help and is more often the one left behind with Shadow these days when we need Mr. Jones on a mission.”

“Huh.” April looks towards where they disappeared off to. “That’s… a surprise. I didn’t think Donnie would be...” Be interested. Have time. Want to leave his experiments on standby.

“Mmhm,” Splinter hums, “and yet, my son takes this task utmost seriously.” He looks quite proud as he says it, and they glance back at the other three. Whom are still teasing each other. “And more competent than some others in this home.”

April laughs.

 

~

 

“Hey, brainiac,” is the only warning Donnie gets before his brother dangles two vials in front of his face. He blinks at it, sleepy and only having just woken. Shadow is a warm weight on top of him, holding onto his headband even in her sleep.

Donnie yawns. Stares fuzzily at the vials, before he looks at Raph whom is leaning over from the back of the couch.  
His brother rolls his eyes.

“They’re from the drug bust,” he tells Donatello, voice quiet to avoid waking the little girl. Donnie can hear the others murmuring between themselves, probably arguing about who gets the first shower. “It’s weird. Ain’t seen nothin’ like it. Check it out, yeah?”

“Alright,” Donnie mumbles, slowly getting himself to sit upright, cradling Shadow to his chest. She doesn’t so much as twitch. “Where’s Casey?”

“Right here, man,” the human says, appearing on the other side of the couch. He takes Shadow from the turtle, and Raphael’s lips twitch at the protesting whine that comes not from the still sleeping kid, but the guy who had cuddled her. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Mrgh,” Donatello grumbles. Yawns again and finally accepts the vials. “Fine. Weird how, Raph?” he asks as he slowly makes his way to his lab, brother tagging along.

“I dunno, weird color, half of the buyers were kinda corpse like and it’s new as _fuck_ so-”

Casey sits down on the couch, grabbing the warm spot Donnie left. He grins down at Shadow who snuffles against him, fingers twitching. She has a few lines on her cheek from having laid on Don’s plastron.

He settles back and gets comfortable. Soon enough, it’s his turn to nod off while cuddling Shadow close.

 

~

 

Shadow’s favorite color is pink. Her dad has a knee injury that he apparently got from a lost hockey career. She has blue eyes and blonde hair. Mrs. Campbell can’t say she approves of her name, thinking it’s only fit for dogs, but she can’t deny that she is good at sneaking around.

She has good imagination, too. She likes to make up stories about her “uncles” and “gran’rat”, fictional creatures that looks like weird turtles and an oddly dressed rat.

There’s also “Doh-ni”, another turtle. Mrs. Campbell isn’t sure why that one turtle is special enough to get a special name.

Well, at least Mr. Jones and Miss O’neil finds it funny.

And unknown to her, uncles, gran’rat and Doh-ni finds it adorable.

 

 


End file.
